Lilacs and Springtime
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Pictures from July
"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" Romans 11:33
Saturday, July 16, 2022
Pasta Salad Recipe
Today I would like to share with you my favorite recipe for pasta salad. Earlier this month I made pasta salad for a Fourth of July picnic at my mom's house.
Thursday, June 23, 2022
Feathered and Furry Friends
Happy Summer! I hope you all have enjoyed a beautiful spring.
This spring we were blessed to add to our flock and I thought I would take some time to share pictures of our feathered and furry friends.
It wasn't too hard for Adam to convince me that we needed geese. Especially when I met the sweet little gosling above! Adam had ordered two Embden geese, unfortunately when the shipment arrived at the store, one of the goslings had not survived the trip. The store we purchased from had a mix of other goslings to choose from and this little dear caught my eye, she is a White Chinese.
In just over a month the geese have grown so much! Both geese are loving and enjoy being held. In the evenings Adam and I will sit in our lawn chairs with a goose on each of our laps.
Adam has named his Embden goose Axel, after the character in Journey to the Center of the Earth. Axel is an impressive goose already, he is twice the size of my goose. I love the picture above, as it looks like he has a crazy tuft of blonde hair! Both geese have lost most of their baby fuzziness and are growing beautiful white feathers.
We were somewhat surprised by a recent visitor to our garden. One evening Adam spotted this enormous snapping turtle in our vegetable garden. We stood by and watched as the turtle began to burrow down into the tilled soil. We all kept our distance, since snapping turtles can be quite dangerous, but enjoyed an up close observation of a large snapper at work.
I hope you have enjoyed this little update about our animal friends. Hope to chat with you all again soon!
"O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches." Psalm 104:24
Sunday, May 30, 2021
Springtime Beauty
May has been a beautiful month where I live. My family and I have been enjoying the return of each springtime flower and feathered friends. It is always such an amazing blessing to see spring unfold after a long cold winter.
My daughter and I find great delight in awaiting the arrival of our favorite flowers. I cherish all of the sweet little bouquets my daughter collects for our kitchen table.
Star of Bethlehem is one of if not my favorite springtime flower. It is a wildflower that began blooming on our property a couple of years after we moved into our home. It tends to be a short lived flower, so we anxiously await its blossoming and soak up its beauty while we can. Each time I see the Star of Bethlehem flower I can't help but think of the sweet Christmas song by that name. : )
We always eagerly anticipate the arrival of the Baltimore Orioles. Adam made little platforms for grape jelly, the orioles enjoy perching on the platforms while they eat the jelly. It is surprising just how much grape jelly they can eat in a week! If you look closely you will spot a male Baltimore oriole, a female and a very mischievous squirrel.
"O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches." Psalm 104:24
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Faith's Checkbook
Faith's Checkbook is a collection of 366 promises from God's Word, one for each day of the year, including leap years. In each reading Charles Spurgeon will expound upon the promise for that day in a brief devotion. I have been blessed time and again to be reminded of God's precious promises though this devotional.
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Below is the reading for December 28th:
Absolute Assurance
"He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).
Several times in the Scriptures the LORD hath said this. He has often repeated it to make our assurance doubly sure. Let us never harbor a doubt about it. In itself the promise is specially emphatic. In the Greek it has five negatives, each one definitely shutting out the possibility of the LORD's ever leaving one of His people so that he can justly feel forsaken of his God. This priceless Scripture does not promise us exemption from trouble, but it does secure us against desertion. We may be called to traverse strange ways, but we shall always have our LORD's company, assistance, and provision. We need not covet money, for we shall always have our God, and God is better than gold; His favor is better than fortune.
We ought surely to be content with such things as we have, for he who has God has more than all the world besides. What can we have beyond the Infinite? What more can we desire than almighty Goodness.
Come, my heart; if God says He will never leave thee nor forsake thee, be thou much in prayer for grace that thou mayest never leave thy LORD, nor even for a moment forsake His ways.
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As the new year approaches it is good to remember God's goodness and His promises through His Word. If you are considering a new daily devotional for 2021 I would highly recommend Faith's Checkbook.
"As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him."
Psalm 18:30
Monday, December 21, 2020
Christmas Books by Grace Livingston Hill Part 2
Back in 2017 I shared some of my favorite Grace Livingston Hill Christmas stories. Since then I have discovered a few other Christmas books by Mrs. Hill that I thoroughly enjoyed. I hope you will too!
The Prodigal Girl was quite the story! It follows the Thorton family during a rather tumultuous Christmas season. Mr. Thorton has spent his years climbing the corporate ladder and spending little time with his family. One day, just after reaching his highest professional achievement, he over hears a rather surprising conversation regarding his eldest daughter. He is stunned, and upon further investigation realizes that while he was pursuing his dream career his family had been terribly neglected. Mr. Thorton makes the decision to remove his family from the city and relocate to his childhood home in rural Vermont.
As can be imagined his worldly wise offspring are less than thrilled with this arrangement. Mr. Thorton meets with a great deal of opposition from his family, especially from his oldest daughter. As the story unfolds we see the Lord's redemptive plan for the Thorton family and it is beautiful! I loved the description of the old homestead in Vermont, and I especially enjoyed reading of the old-fashioned preparations for Christmas. The Prodigal Girl was a book that I found hard to put down and one that I would highly recommend.
Partners is the story of Dale, a young woman out of a job and alone in an unfriendly city. Trouble seems to meet her at every turn. Utterly despondent and without hope she calls upon God for guidance and help. She is amazed at the answer to her prayer, and the unusual responsibilities that come her way.
On a stormy evening, a young man that resides at the boarding house where Dale lives discovers a baby left in the vestibule of the boarding house. The poor little baby is covered with snow, blue with cold and terribly sick. Unable to find help in the ladies running the boarding house he seeks help from Dale. From that point forwards they become "partners" in seeking to save the precious little life of the baby he had found. Partners is a lovely story. I was blessed with the story's ultimate theme of God's goodness and guidance in the lives of the characters.
Monday, December 14, 2020
Christmas Cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3 1/4 cups
flour
-
2 teaspoons
baking soda
-
2 teaspoon
cinnamon
- 1 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 1 1/2 cups sugar (I used all brown, but I think the recipe recommend white)
-
1
egg
-
2 tablespoons
maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon water
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Jemimah discovered this recipe in her Club House Jr. Magazine. They were a lot of fun to make and the
finished cookies were scrumptious! The design and flavor are perfect for Christmas. I know that from now on candy cane cookies will be
part of my Christmas cookie rotation each year.
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- red food coloring
Directions: Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, peppermint, vanilla, salt and baking powder. Gradually add flour, mix well. Set aside half of the dough. Add red food coloring to one half of dough. Chill dough for at least one hour, so that dough is easier to work with. Once chilled pinch off a piece of dough, about 2 tablespoons, from each color. Roll each dough into a rope that measure about 5" long. Twist both ropes together and then curve top to create a cane shaped cookie. Bake in a 375 degree oven 9-12 minutes.
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